


All Things

by andstarswillscream



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Empurata, Gen, kinda expanding on canon a bit, the functionist council is terrible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 16:47:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6762112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andstarswillscream/pseuds/andstarswillscream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’d always taken a liking to the smaller, finer luxuries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He’d always taken a liking to the smaller, finer luxuries. The senator, after hearing of an aerial corps mech trading in his wings for a career in watchmaking (as well as hissed unpleasantries under the breath of the fellow senate), near-instantly decided to approach the mech himself, removed from his status as a senator. The mech had kept his shop under wraps, and Shockwave couldn’t find it in his spark to blame him, outrage at the very idea rippled through the entirety of the higher class mechs. 

And yet, a semblance of wonder persisted. _'Are we truly more than our functions? Can we decide what we wish to be? Are we, as a society, able to exist in such chaos?’_

Shockwave believed so. The senator had eventually found the workshop, out of the way and small. He’d had to stop and ask passersby where he might find the one who’d rebelled against the rising Functionist Council. He’d been pointed in many different directions, before finally being told he was only a few doors away. He thanked the gracious mech, before going on his way.

He wondered, perhaps, would he find someone who took the world by the kibble and wanted to extend a rude gesture at the council and everything those slag heaps stood for? Would he find a leader, bold and ready to do what must be sought to?

Maybe a possible matrixbearer?

He entered the shop, rapping his knuckles on the doorframe as he stepped in. Inside, he found a sole mech, one leg draped over the other, sitting at the counter, tiny gears and tools strewn around him as he worked ever-so carefully. The watchmaker looked up from his work almost meekly. 

Shockwave smiled, closing the door behind him. “I apologize for the intrusion, I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

“Take a number, so does half of Iacon. I’m a real tourist attraction right now.”

“I can imagine so. May I…?” He pointed to a seat, the mech nodding without a word. He walked over, sitting near the watchmaker at work.

“May I ask your name?” Shockwave inquired, optics focussed on the other’s hands, how how stay they were.

“Whirl.”

He made a note to remember that, leaning back in the seat to give Whirl more room. He cast his gaze around the workshop, noting how clean, yet comfortable it was. Much better than the rigid shapes and blankness of the halls in the Senate. Sure, it was all pretty, he’d spent many hours in awe at the architecture of the building itself, but… spending so much time in those halls filled him with a sort of emptiness, as though the very walls were sucking the life from his spark. It was the same feeling that spending time with the other senators gave him, creeping, cold feeling that rose up the back struts and sent discomfort through his frame in soft trembles.

But here, it was warm and lived in. Rustic, definitely. But he could tell Whirl had spent years here when the work day was out, pouring his spark into mastering a craft he wasn’t even sure was legal for him to attempt. Shockwave felt admiration warming his spark, and he turned his gaze back to Whirl, screwing the outer shell upon the inner workings of the watch he currently worked on, delicately carved designs in the metal.

“It’s beautiful.” He said, finally, as the last screw was put in place, and Whirl set it aside. “May I see your other works?”

“I know who you are, y’know. If you’re here to take all of this away from me, you can forget it.” Whirl’s optics had narrowed, distrustful, fearful.

Shockwave raised his hands, shaking his head. “That’s not my intention at all, I can promise you. You interest me.” _I admire you._

Whirl gave him a once-over, and Shockwave expanded his EM Field, letting it brush up against Whirl. The other mech tensed, soon relaxing some as the waves of honesty and tinges of wonder washed over him. 

“Alright. But if I get a bunch of pissed-off senators and their goons at my door, I’m having your aft welded to the wall. Right there.” Whirl warned, pointing at Shockwave, and then to the wall behind him, before standing and heading for the door next to him. “I’ll even give you a plaque.”

Shockwave could only smile, following behind him as he was allowed into the adjacent room, with shelves upon shelves filled of some of the most beautiful watches he’d ever seen. He slowly approached one, admiring the details on its casing. Whirl hung back, keeping an eye on him. Shockwave turned around to face him, a million questions on his mind, pride in Whirl and the beauty he could create flooding through him, but could voice only one thing: “Which one are you most proud of?”

He wanted to know, _needed_ to know. Whirl thought for a moment, finger tapping his chin, before making his way towards a rather small watch, carefully picking it up and walking over to Shockwave to show him. 

“This, is the first one I ever made. Well, that _worked_. ’S a little lackluster, yeah. But it’s got that sentimental value, y’know?”

Shockwave nodded, smiling brightly as he got a good look. Whirl was certainly right about it being less impressive than the others, but he found it absolutely wonderful to see exactly how far Whirl had come since then. “It’s wonderful, how much you’ve improved.”

“Yeah. Years of work, but. It’s worth it, I think. I’m a lot more comfortable doing this than I ever was in the Aerial Corps.”

Shockwave could tell. A question tugged at his mind, and after a few moments, he let himself voice it. “Could I perhaps, buy one? Your work is stunning, and… Well. It seems I’ve fallen for your craftsmanship.”

Whirl paused, pointing to one of the trays on a shelf before responding. “Those are the only ones for sale. I usually make these on order, y’see.”

With a nod Shockwave approached, optics almost immediately landing on one with small blue jewels swirling into a beautiful pattern on it. “How about this one?”

“It’s—“ 

“Oh, the price doesn’t matter. I’m paid too much as it is anyways.” 

He’d noticed the price tag next to it, and made sure to deposit a few hundred extra shanix into Whirl’s account. Whirl looked at him, bewildered. “Cybertron below me… Are you sure you put the right number there? Not that I mind, but—“ 

Shockwave smiled, nodding. “Take it. You’ll need it to get your business off the ground—Sorry. You know what I mean.” 

He picked up the watch as he left, adoring the glimmer of light off the crystals. He paused before exiting the shop, turning to look at the watchmaker. “There was a note with the transfer, it’s my personal comm. line. Don't be afraid to call me if you ever need anything, and have a good day, Whirl.”

And with that, he left Whirl almost reeling from his generosity, optics wide.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It went rejected.

Shockwave had put the watch on the table next to his berth that night, after spending hours admiring Whirl’s work on it. The next day, he’d taken it with him, presenting it to some of the Senate, optics wide. He used it to attempt to prove a point, that one’s function was not all they were ever truly capable of. He was ignored, of course, and dismissed. He’d even shown it to his students, telling them where to find Whirl if they ever wished for one as well, and that if they wanted he could take them there himself. They, at the least, appreciated the work Whirl had put into the watch, even if there was not much interest in watches themselves. 

He’d visited a few times afterwards, not always buying something, usually just dropping in to check on Whirl and see how the business was coming along. It seemed to be going well, and after a few years, his _friend_ was nearly swamped with orders. Shockwave took care to not visit too often, not wanting to distract Whirl from his work. He would order watches for his students and dear Orion on holidays, and Whirl would always deliver, with stunning intricate designs and a wink.

There were times where he’d arrive to the mech asleep at the front desk, tools in hand. Shockwave would pull a blanket from the closet, draping it over Whirl carefully, and would lock the door as he left, so no one would come disturb the watchmaker.

But one day, Whirl was not there. Shockwave assumed he’d been in the back room, and knocked at the door, waiting, even commed him. 

It went rejected.

Shockwave only shrugged, not thinking much of it.

He visited a few days later, only to find the place destroyed. His spark clenched in its chamber, optics wide in horror. There was no sign of Whirl anywhere, and the watchmaker wouldn’t answer his calls. Worry boiled within the senator, and his mind flashed to how smugly the Functionists had spoken to him earlier. Shockwave grit his dentae, making his way back to the Senate, and his rage was only hushed, being told he had no basis for his accusations, that the senate’s, and the council’s, hands were clean.

Too clean. It unsettled him.

Shockwave tried, for months, to get into contact with his friend. Nothing, not a sound, not a word. He feared that Whirl might have been locked up, or killed.

The next time he heard the name Whirl, it was not coupled with how skilled he was at watchmaking. Instead, it was all about how he’d tried to kill Megatron. Shockwave caught a glimpse of his friend on the screen of a bar, and his tanks turned in horror at what he saw: they’d turned him into a fighting machine, an extra chip in a larger game. Removed his face. 

_His hands._

Once more, Shockwave stormed the Senate, this time with hellfire in his veins. His yelling gathered them all into the high courtroom, murmuring softly amongst one another.

“HE HAD A FUTURE, SOMETHING BEYOND YOUR AGENDA. WHAT WAS YOUR PLAN, TO KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE? TO RID YOURSELVES OF BOTH AN UPSTART MINER, AND A MECH WHO WANTED SOME SEMBLANCE OF CONTROL OVER A LIFE THAT WAS HIS OWN?”

“Senator Shockwave, you must calm yourself—“

“DON'T COME AT ME, DO _NOT TOUCH ME_!” Shockwave roared, all clenched fists and a ferality that made the whole room tense. Many shifted uncomfortably, it was clear this was not something they’d counted on. He hoped they were uncomfortable. He hoped that they’d never again be able to sit comfortably in their pretty seats and look down upon another mech with ease. He wanted to unsettle them.

“I’ll rip your arms off and _feed_ them to you if you get any closer.” He paced the room, the kibble on his arms twitching with anger and stress.

“Do you not know what you’ve done? You’ve ripped everything from him! And for what, so you can let the poor mech rot in a cell?” He continued, wanting them all to choke on the vitriol that spilled from his lips, hands and shoulders shaking with the weight of his rage.

“He has defied us, and the natural order of things. We are only doing what is best for him.”

Shockwave’s helm snapped toward the voice, as some slagheap council member approached. 

“He was perfectly happy where he was, I saw it myself. He was comfortable. He was _successful._ I’m the only one out of all of you who had any right to have a say in this, and you KEPT IT FROM ME.”

They were silent then. Good.

“So tell me then, was Whirl, yes, he has a NAME, was putting him in a prison filled with Decepticons the best thing for him, after he attempted to kill their LEADER?”

Nothing, not a murmur. 

“Where is he.”

“We are not discussing this now, Senator—“ 

“WHERE. IS HE.”

No one said anything of use, all of them trying to pacify him at once with ‘we don’t know’, as if they didn’t _control where the damn prisoners ended up_. Shockwave refused to have it.

“WHERE DID YOU PUT HIM.” _Tell me, or I’m bringing this whole building down._

Guards had been called a while ago, it seemed, and he had to be dragged out, with Senator Proteus following behind. Shockwave turned, trying to hear himself away from the group of mechs that had a hold on him, hoping that maybe he could reach just far enough to rip the smirk off Proteus’ face.

“We can all agree that you need some time to relax, dear Senator. As of right now, you are suspended from the Senate. These kind mechs can, and will, escort you home, if you refuse to leave these grounds.” Proteus said calmly, staring him down. As if on cue, the guards tightened their grip on him, and Shockwave could only hiss.

“Take a nice, long break. You need it.”

“ _I hope you rust to your pretty seat._ ” Shockwave snapped back, before being hauled out of the building.

He didn’t need to be escorted home.


End file.
